So much for bereavement fare

After my husband's sister died this week, everyone kept telling me to call the airlines and ask for a bereavement fare. Apparently a lot of airlines used to give really good deals for last minute travel if you had proof of a death in the family. Well -- not anymore. The vast majority of those I called have discontinued it all together and those that did offered a tiny discount (usually about 10 percent) off outrageously high prices. Then when I checked online prices, it was always cheaper to just book it through Travelocity or one of the other similar websites without going through the hassle of a bereavement fare. And I don't mean a little bit cheaper. Some of the major carriers were quoting me prices higher than $1,000 and then had online bookings for $460. I just don't get it.
Does anyone bother booking with airlines directly anymore? I think I'll stick with Travelocity. (Which incidentally also has cheaper Carnival cruises than Carnival.)

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My grandmother in Spain passed away this past May. You would stroke to know what my mom paid to get there in time for the funeral. I could not afford to go. It is such a shame. This should be the one concession the airlines should hold on to and allow the most reasonable and fair price to allow people the opportunity for the closure needed at such a terrible time.

I wanted to mention that I am so sorry for Russ' and your loss. I can't begin to imagine what you guys are going thru. I know nothing said will help to ease the pain. I am sure you both have an excellent support system - just take advantage of that. That is what friends and family are for. Take care, Lisa

This is a sad situation. But times have changed so much over the past 40 years. People used to live closer together. Now we are rutinely spread out all over the world and think nothing of it. That's just the way it is. But when tragedy strikes, we come to the realization that living so far apart from family does have its downside.

As much as I would love to jump on those mean old Airlines for not offering this bereavement rate any longer, you have to understand that when they finally go under (and this is a certainty that cannot be avoided much longer) no one will mourne for them. That's because they are showing no mercy on anyone. Their pricing is not fair, but they have the right to be not fair. If you reserve at least a month ahead, you can get a good deal. But if you need to go today, they know that they have you, so the price goes way, way up. It's not right, but it is legal and they will stick it to you if given the chance.

So, my advice for those who live far away from their familes is to always have an emergency fund to fall back on. It could happen to anybody at any time. Be prepared.
LB

I'm not saying they SHOULD offer a better fare. But why didn't they give me the same fair I could get online?
I called the same airline, got one price and then found the exact same ticket leaving at the same time on the same day from the same airport and the same airline for 1/3 the price!
My guess is Travelocity must get a certain number of reservations set aside at lower fares, but it just doesn't make sense that it would be so much cheaper than going directly to the airline. Seems backward to me.

You are ALWAYS going to get a better fare online, especially if you purchase it from the airline's website. Travelocity generally charges a fee (around $5 if I recall correctly) to buy a ticket through them. When you call on the phone to book and talk to someone "live", you are paying for the base (non discounted) fare....generally more than what you can get online.

Personally, I mainly fly Delta out of Savannah and book directly on Delta.com, though I use Travelocity to get a "range" of airfares before booking directly through the website of the airline offering the lowest fare. Hope this helps for future travels.

Corporations invest a lot of time and effort into identifying targeted markets. Each market, in this case the manner in which you make reservations, has a distinct marketing and pricing strategy designed around the price elasticity of the targeted "group."

They figure out how to get the most out of each market by using this strategy.

At least for domestic travel, airlines count on business travelers, meaning last minute travelers, who have to and will pay top dollar for seats to offset the rest of the traveling public who has the time to book in advance and search for discounted seats. The airlines of course don't know why or care why someone's traveling at the last minute, but usually that's when they can charge more to help for the discounted seats.
I feel for the airlines right now. It'd be an awful business to be in. I'm not saying tickets are cheap by any means, no matter what, but compared to what it costs to fly a leg these days, with fuel, unionized salaries, maintenence, insurance etc... the tickets haven't gone up in price proportionately. Not to mention the competition each airline faces.

The airlines DO offer lower fares online because you are doing the work of an employee they have to pay; however, there have been times that Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, etc have had lower fares than the airline's own site. This is called "capacity control." These sites DO charge a booking fee, so your best bet is to check a general site, find your fare, then check the airline site directly.
If you call a travel agent, they will normally charge a higher booking fee because they do not make commission on most domestic airfares.

As far as international travel, there are some consolidators which can offer lower than published fares. Check with a travel agent for these rates. Savings are usually hundreds of dollars even with the commission they charge.

Cruises and tours are a different story. You will get the best rates from agencies that belong to a consortium which in turn translates into buying power based on volume. There is usually no fee for the consumer because they make commissions. Agencies can also offer bonuses like shipboard credits, amenities, and other perks not available online.

Steph - I'm sorry to hear about your loss. My grandmother passed away about two weeks ago and I too almost had a heart attack when pricing flights home to Maine.

Fortunately for me, the Funeral Director had given my mom a code and phone number to a Bereavement Travel Agency. That's all they do. I got a flight for $400, where everything else was $1000. You may want to ask about this if you haven't bought tickets yet.

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. ~Author Unknown

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